Slickergate and the missing emails

THE Government investigation into 'Slickergate', the share dealing scandal involving Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, has been hampered by the disappearance of emails between Morgan and two of his former writers, Financial Mail has established.

Department of Trade and Industry inspectors were unable to obtain crucial correspondence between Morgan and Anil Bhoyrul, then editor of the Mirror's City Slickers page.

Some of the missing messages were sent on 17 January, 2000 - the day Morgan bought shares worth £20,000 in Alan Sugar's computer company Viglen.

Bhoyrul and his co-writer James Hipwell led the page the next day with a story about Viglen, which caused its shares to rocket and led to the insider dealing inquiry. Morgan has consistently denied knowing that Viglen was to feature in the page.

Bhoyrul initially supported Morgan's story. But he later gave statements to the Press Complaints Commission and to the DTI inspectors stating that he discussed-Viglen with Morgan before the story was published. After the stock market had closed, Morgan did e-mail Bhoyrul about buying Viglen shares.

The inspectors have been unable to retrieve all of the relevant messages.

A 'smoking gun' e-mail from Morgan came after Bhoyrul sent a message congratulating the editor for not taking his advice to sell shares in another company, Pace Microsystems, whose shares rose 16% that day. It read: 'I sold them for bloody Viglen this morning. Congratulations halfwit'.

The use of the word 'bloody' is thought to be significant because it implied previous conversations. Prior exchanges would be crucial evidence backing Bhoyrul's version of events.

DTI inspectors also received evidence that Morgan met the Slickers and other Mirror staff after it was revealed that he had bought Viglen shares and agreed to give the same version of events.